Bell Canada Decides To Throttle Traffic Without Telling Resellers
from the no-neutrality-for-you! dept
While it’s increasingly rare to find DSL service not directly sold by the telco (thanks to the FCC killing line sharing rules, of course), in other countries, it’s much more common. This creates competition on the network and gives the various retail sellers a chance to differentiate themselves. Up in Canada, it appears that Bell Canada has decided to start implementing traffic shaping features without letting its resellers know. That means that customers are discovering that their traffic is being impeded at times and their own ISP has no clue about it. And it’s blocking perfectly legitimate activities. In fact, one person points out that he’s having trouble downloading the show that the CBC is purposely offering on BitTorrent. This seems especially ridiculous, as Bell Canada is dealing with a small number of resellers and should be able to price its network in a manner that takes into account usage — allowing the resellers to handle how they reprice and resell the service. But by unilaterally deciding to shape the traffic without even telling its ISP partners, it gets users pissed off at their own ISPs for something that has nothing to do with them. Then again, perhaps that’s the idea.
Filed Under: canada, line sharing, resellers, traffic shaping, wholesaling
Companies: bell canada
Comments on “Bell Canada Decides To Throttle Traffic Without Telling Resellers”
Shut up foo'!
As long as the throttling doesn’t cause videos to skip, dunno what’s wrong with it.
What's wrong with throttling
Mr T: Throttling in of itself isn’t bad, it’s doing it secretly and in contradiction of rates promised by the packages the users pay for.
In this case, it’s particularly bad since the company in question (Bell Canada, not an ISP, although it owns one) is throttling users of other companies, messing with their clients (the ISPs) and their clients’ clients (DSL users).
Re: Shut up foo'!
Canadian telecos have long been strikingly anticompetitive in comparison to those stateside. My jaw dropped when I saw 3-year contracts for cell phones.
But it looks like T-Mobile is looking to possibly make a bid for 3G spectrum for a 2009 launch..?
Bell Canada is evil
And I’m not even refering directly to this event in particular. This company use to have a monopolistic situation and lost it. Their service is still modeled on a monopolistic situation and most people left the boat.
I guess a lot of their former client went with another DSL ISP not knowing Bell was still the one owning it all. I’m not really suprised, not at all. It’s Bell and story involving Bell can turn into nightmare.
That’s a big problem up here, the DSL architecture is owned by Bell and the cable architecture is owned by very few players.
No matter which ISP you choose, your bound to either one of them, but most peeps don’t know this.
Did I mention Bell is evil? If you ever have a company, studying the Bell model is a sure way to learn what you shouln’t be doing to keep your customer happy.
eh!
Not very Symaptico
When I decided to move to Teksavvy for DSL I called Bell to cancel my service, they asked me why I was cancelling, throttling of course, they then offered me a 25% discount. I refused.
Bell throttling independent ISP's
Well let me put it in terms that demonstrates just how wrong this is ….
First, Bell and Rogers the two major Internet Service Providers are also the two major entertainment proividers. That in itself is a conflict of interest .. let me tell you why…
Bell and Rogers both have strong vested interests in selling entertainment being DVD rental Expressvu (Pay per view). They are assuming that people who use the internet more specifically those who use torrents are downloading movies and entertainment. This cuts into their business and therefore, they control by “throttling” p2p and BT. They are under the impression that by doing this, they can sell the movies you have already paid 5 times to see can be sold to you again in high-definition for a 6th time. The films you are paying 34.99 to get on bluray cost about 12 cents to make because they were already filmed in high-def. You paid for that movie when you saw it at the theater, then when you bought the Beta tape .. yet again when you bought the VHS and then again when you rented it from Rogers and then perhaps watched it on Pay Per view and then ultimately decided to buy the DVD. Now they want to do it all over again … yup they want you to dish out you hard earned cash to buy that movie again. How many times does someone have to buy that movie ? Can the industry be a little less greedy … maybe ?
No , I think not ! Perhaps if they were a little more fair and stopped being so greedy people would stop downloading torrents and buy the real thing .. eh ?
Anyway in light of all the things I’ve just pointed out .. I don’t blame the people for revolting and sticking it to Hollywood and the likes of Bell and Rogers who stand in their shadows ready to leech at every opportunity.
Yes Bell can call it Fair Use Policy .. I call it Fairly Abusive Policy.
To add insult to injury, they are hypocritical on top of being vampires.
If you think that the reason they are throttling has anything to do with bandwidth you are quite naive… it has to do with profit and control.
Regards,
CK
I am deeply concerned about Bell Canada’s recent announcement that it will make its practice of throttling official. I have felt the full effect of their throttling myself and I am not even one of their customers.
Canada does not have strict enforceable net neutrality legislation and so there is very little structure in place to prevent the big ISPs from discriminating by speeding up or slowing down Web content based on its source, ownership or destination.
I am being throttled at 10kbps, sometimes I can hit 60kbps. I am on ADSL with Radioactif, a reseller, and I used to be able to hit 405kbps in best conditions. Bell did not provide No warning, No penalties, No abuse notice. And they are throttling me. It’s completely unacceptable. If it was in Europe, there would be Riots in the streets. Bell and all other major ISP are abusing their power and their customers that have no other alternative. It is an infringement of human rights.
“Human rights are “basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled.” “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and RIGHTS. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” -Article 1
They abuse their power to profit themselves and only themselves. The fact that I am not even one of their customer and I am being controlled, monitored and denied full access to what I am paying every month and am entitled to. What make it right to allow a reseller to sell me a service that the Network owner block at 10kbps. I’m paying for high speed. No download limits and pay 30$ a month for a service that is 1/3 a 9.99$ 56kbps Dial-up Connection. So I am paying 3 times the price for 30% of what I should be rightfully getting. I am literally getting robbed.
Bell is using it’s monopoly over DSL infrastructure to restrict competition in the industry. They also affect the broadcasting industry and the right to share free computer software. Freeware are open to everybody without discrimination. What purpose is it to have access to a Linux distribution when you cannot download it because it would take me Months to download a Free open source distribution when it could take me days, even hours at normal pace. Bell’s alliances and vertical integration with software and broadcasting interests are a direct conflict of interest.
I am outraged that Canada does not have a policy to protect my ability to communicate and access information freely on the Internet and urge everyone to take action on this matter immediately before it is too late.
Yep,, you should sing the titanic song..
Throttling is the least of bell’s worries, like some of you said in earlyer messages, bell is still treating their customers like their still monopolizing the industry, but they aren’t…
Back when i was young, the only phone company here was bell and the only intertainment company was videotron and cogeco then the internet came out so bell jumped on the occasion to monopolise that part of the industry and did it for a long time while still treating their customers like dirt because they knew they were the only providers but like they never saw it coming videotron a major cable provider wanted a share of the industry but bell faught long and hard not to let them have it because they knew that if another provider appeard that they would loose ALOT of their customers, and this is exactly what happened!
I say good riddance so, what goes around comes around….
but i thought they would learn from their mistakes but i guess not, by hearing you guys THEY NEVER CHANGED! even after loosing more than 90% of their clientel here in quebec and other province SHOULD DO THE SAME!, THERE ARE OTHER PROVIDERS!
DSL is crap to start with because your phone line is capped @40mb sec and now with my videotron cable isp i get 50mb for 30$ a month with my other service rebates so here bell is gone and made room for other competitors to offer better services and better prices.
Bell was sold lately and it will keep on doing bad because they will never change thus will never make their customers happy……
here is what bell offers…
29,99$ /mo for 75mb hosting with no databases?!?!? woot!!
bell, get with the program! 7,99 +unlimited everything+domain!!!
80$ +++ for basic satelite + 1 movie chanel bundle??
bell!!,, get with the program!!, get into the cable business you morons!! plus we cant install your dishes! our lanlords dont allow us because of city codes!! IDIOTS!!
STOP HIRING FOREIGN PERSONEL FOR YOUR CUSTOMER SUPPORT WE DONT UNDERSTAND ANYTHING!!
anyways, bell WILL go down one day (at lease here in quebec)and trust me when i say that when they do none of us will be bothered with it,,,, good riddance.
also, i dont want to be or sound like a racist,, but werent they sold to a juish group of investers?,, only that is good enough to make you want to change providers!
Martin!